Extinctions related to climate change have already happened in hundreds of plant and animal species around the world. New research, publishing on December 8th in the open-access journal PLOS Biology, shows that local extinctions have already occurred in 47% of the 976 plant and animal species studied.

In a new study, Columbia Engineering researchers looked at increasing trends in the severity of tornado outbreaks where they measured severity by the number of tornadoes per outbreak. They found that these trends are increasing fastest for the most extreme outbreaks.

Intense storms have become more frequent and longer-lasting in the Great Plains and Midwest in the last 35 years. What has fueled these storms? The temperature difference between the Southern Great Plains and the Atlantic Ocean produces winds that carry moisture from the Gulf of Mexico to the Great Plains, according to a new study in Nature Communications.

An University at Buffalo PhD student received a $225,000 National Science Foundation grant to develop a system of telescoping concrete boxes to be used as “rise on demand” flood walls. The walls can be installed below ground level, so as not to block any water views, and can be raised when the threat of flooding occurs.

A new comprehensive study of Australian natural hazards paints a picture of increasing heatwaves and extreme bushfires as this century progresses, but with much more uncertainty about the future of storms and rainfall.

Studying hurricane and tropical storm development from three million years ago might give today’s forecasters a good blueprint for 21st century storms, says a team of international researchers that includes a Texas A&M University atmospheric sciences professor.

Gonzaga-in-Florence, Gonzaga University’s flagship study abroad program begun here in 1963, will mark the 50th anniversary of the devastating flooding of the Arno River on Nov. 4, 1966, one of the worst in Florence history, with a special exhibition opening at 6 p.m., Wednesday, Nov. 16 in the Mozilo Center

Research by the University of Southampton shows that a change in the patterns of tropical storms is threatening the future of the Mekong River delta in Vietnam, indicating a similar risk to other deltas around the world.

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From housing evacuated livestock to manning the phones at local emergency operations centers, UF/IFAS Extension faculty across the state put in many long hours and a few sleepless nights keeping people safe and informed during Hurricane Matthew.

To help improve hurricane preparedness and mitigation efforts, new University of Iowa–led research examines how accurate current forecasting systems are in predicting rainfall from North Atlantic tropical cyclones that make landfall in the United States.